Peribulbar anesthesia: efficacy of a single injection with a limited local anesthetic volume

Cataract surgery can be performed with peribulbar anesthesia. The classical technique consists of two injections of local anesthetics. The purpose of our study was to assess peribulbar anesthesia with a single injection and a limited volume of local anesthetics. After local ethics committee agreement and oral consent, patients scheduled for cataract surgery using peribulbar anesthesia were prospectively included. The lower temporal puncture was performed with a peribulbar needle with propofol sedation. The mixture of local anesthetics was administered with tactile control of orbital pressure. The puncture was followed by a 10-min compression of the ocular globe. Akinesia, analgesia, complications, and surgical conditions were noted. A total of 101 successive patients were included. We administered 1.2 mg/kg of propofol. The volume of local anesthetics administered was 5.0 +/- 0.9 ml. Ninety patients had akinesia at 10 min and 6.7% moderate chemosis. No puncture complication occurred. At the end of surgery, the pain noted by the patients was 0.4 +/- 2.1 out of 100 (range, 0-10). Surgical conditions were good for all patients. Peribulbar anesthesia performed with a single injection and a limited volume of local anesthetics allows cataract surgery in good conditions for the surgeon with very good analgesia for the patient.